Black Water
by Kristen of the Opera
Summary: Oneshot. Joanna, an unsuspecting teenager. Freddy, a brutal killer lurking in her dreams. Nothing good will come of this.


** Black Water **

**A/N: I promise 'Parasite' and 'Guardian' are not dead! I'm trying to find the inspiration to work on them, and I also hated the original ending to 'Parasite,' so I deleted it and I'm attempting a new climax. If you stay patient with me, I WILL deliver the goods. :) For now, enjoy this distraction.**

**Also, I'd like to write more 'Nightmare' stories before the remake makes the fandom explode. Sigh. We have such a nice, quiet fandom, too. :(**

The room I was currently standing in had a macabre beauty to it. The walls were cave-like, stony, and rounded out, making it seem like a cavern. Under my feet, the hard ground felt so genuine, but this had to be manmade. It seemed as though nothing in particular lit the room. I could see no lights, but the cavern was not pitch black. I could see, and there were definitely shadows on the walls, but I still saw no source.

In front of me was a small pond. Instead of blue, or clear, the water was black. Yet, somehow, I knew there was nothing dirty in the water. Oil was not floating upon the surface, marring the beauty of the small pond. In fact, I felt drawn to the water, as though a secret force was pulling me toward it. In the middle of the water was a small well sticking out. There was not a clue in my mind as to what significance the well in the center had, but I wanted to go to it. I wanted to swim to it.

After all, I was already wearing my swimsuit.

Something was down that well in the middle. I could tell. So I stepped onto the water.

That's right. _Onto _the water. My foot didn't naturally sink down as physics demands. Looking down, I saw the ripples that my foot made when I stepped on the water. Slowly, I brought my other foot with me. Still, I was not sinking down into the water. By now, there should have been buzzing in my head, telling me that there was something strange going on. I didn't stop, though. That was my foolish mistake.

But do you know what it's like to walk on water? I felt euphoric and extraterrestrial. Even though I was somewhat disappointed that I was not actually swimming, the high I got from walking on water totally made up for it. I felt lighter than air, and stretched out my arms as I walked.

"Incredible. . ." I breathed.

My euphoria was over in a flash. About halfway to the well in the middle, I felt something around my ankle. Looking down, I screeched when I saw the hand—no, the _claws_—that gripped my ankle. Something pulled me down into the black water.

Now, I completely loathed the black water. I couldn't see anything, and I had to close my eyes. The water burned them. On the bright side, whatever had pulled me down into the water was no longer there, so I quickly swam to the surface to catch my breath. It seemed like forever until I reached the surface, and I wondered if I had been pulled down farther from the surface than I thought. For a moment, I flailed my arms pathetically. If my swim coach saw me like this, she would have had an aneurysm. Finally, I swam as quickly as my body would allow over to the well. It was only a few feet away. . .

I used my strength to pull myself up. The stone wall of the well was about as wide as a balance beam, but I liked to think of myself as a rather graceful person, so this wouldn't pose a problem.

After I calmed myself, I made mistake number two: I looked down into the well. At first, it seemed like it was no different. It was just a shallow well filled with the same black water.

Then it happened. Someone's clawed hand reached up and gripped the edge of the well, startling me so much that I fell backwards into the black water. When I came up to the surface again, I noticed that the room had dimmed significantly. I treaded water as I watched somebody pull themself over the edge of the well, practically right on top of me.

First I saw the clawed hand again. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was actually a glove. As the figure rose, I could make out the shape of a fedora hat in the dimmed lighting. When the figure was about halfway over the wall, it suddenly stopped. For some strange reason, he longer had to support himself, and I could tell he was standing. Well, he could probably stand on this water, too.

He leaned casually over the well's wall and tapped the index claw against the stone. "Joanna. . ." he said in a quick, but terrifying tone.

". . .What?" I felt completely stupid for saying it, but that's how I usually responded to those who addressed me by name, so it was said on instinct.

He didn't pause, he just bent his arms a bit as though he was preparing to jump over the wall. "You're going to die." And he did jump over the wall, landing right on top of me in the water. He didn't waste any time.

He could have easily drowned me, but opted for the quicker, gorier death. I felt his claws slice into my stomach, and I woke up gasping for air.

I had the taste of bile, warm saliva, and blood in my mouth all at the same time. I looked down at the sheets, the blood quickly staining them red, almost black. . . like the water.

"Mom. . ." I called helplessly before I started throwing up blood. Holding my stomach, I made my way out of bed and into the hallway, my blood trailing the floor behind me. "Mom!" I screamed.

I banged on her door, dismissing all courtesy and politeness. "Mom!" I screamed again, turning the knob.

She looked up from the bed sleepily, pulling her mask up to her forehead. She would never be prepared to look at this. "Joanna!" She threw the covers off of her, and picked up the phone on her night stand. I can't remember the rest; I was too busy bleeding all over her bedroom carpet, feeling hazy.

The ambulance didn't arrive on time.

****

Based on an actual dream I had, save for the dying on my mother's bedroom floor part.


End file.
